Hanoi  - Vietnam's Communist Party has revoked the membership of a high-ranking official of the prosecutor's office in a southern province due to a series of infractions, including having a fourth child, local media said Friday.

The Party Committee of Ca Mau province, 350 kilometres south-west of Ho Chi Minh City, issued a decision Thursday expelling Tran Cong Loc, director of the province's People's Procuracy, from the Communist Party, according to the newspaper Tien Phong.

The newspaper said the prosecutor's office suspended Loc from duty on May 15, and that the provincial Party Committee has asked that he be fired.

Contacted by phone, Vo Thanh Binh, head of the provincial Party Committee, said regulations prohibited him from commenting on the case.

According to the newspaper, Loc made several mistakes in handling criminal cases, was dishonest in declaring property he owned, and had four children, violating Vietnam's two-child policy.

"According to regulations, state officials are not allowed to have more than two children, but in case of violations, the punishment is often very soft,"' said National Assembly member Duong Trung Quoc. "State officials violating this regulation are not promoted."

Quoc said that since the Party Congress in 2006 dropped a ban on Party members owning businesses, not all members are obliged to declare their property. High-ranking officials, however, must fully disclose all property.

In January, the Party Committee of Ha Tinh province fired the chairman of the People's Committee of the city of Ha Tinh for having a third child. (dpa)